Gorgeous Night Photography of the ’20s and ’30s

Early night photos of Hungary, dark Parisian streets of ’20s, queer night clubs and Moulin Rouge in the ’30s and a few very late evening encounters in the early ’50s — the technical innovations that allowed nighttime photography exposed these worlds and the “shifting social and artistic conventions” that play out after sunset. New York’s Bruce Silverstein Gallery has assembled a captivating set of nightlife photography’s early pioneers Brassaï, Ilse Bing, Robert Doisneau and André Kertész for their Nightexhibit. Visit sexy-sans-soft-box-flash mystery gals and stroll down moonlight cobblestone with our (mostly safe for work!) picks from the show.

“Night only suggests things, it doesn’t fully reveal them. Night unnerves us and surprises us with its strangeness; it frees powers within us which were controlled by reason during the day…” -Brassaï